Quarterbacks lead Aina to victory

STORY SUMMARY »

Nine former University of Hawaii football players had a rough ending to their careers at Aloha Stadium yesterday as the Kai team was blown out by the Aina squad 38-7 in the Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl.

Kahuku graduate J.T. Mapu was the only local player on the winning team, and made a huge impact on the game with three tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Waimea graduate Jordon Dizon had six tackles and former UH wide receiver CJ Hawthorne had three catches for 57 yards. Jason Rivers added two receptions for 27 yards and Myron Newberry intercepted a pass in the end zone.

Whether it's the regular season, playoffs, a bowl or just a friendly pickup game in the backyard, the story is always the same.

You can't turn the ball over and expect to win in football.

The Kai squad learned that lesson the hard way by committing six turnovers as they were routed by the Aina team 38-7 in the Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl yesterday at Aloha Stadium.

Former Marshall quarterback Bernard Morris threw for 172 yards and a touchdown and fellow signal-caller Paul Smith (Tulsa) rushed for two scores as Aina blew open the game with two fourth-quarter touchdowns in front of about 2,000 fans.

"I was proud of the way these guys came together as a team this week," Aina coach Ron Zook (Illinois) said. "There was no jealousy between the players. Guys jumped in and played hard when they were out there."

The Aina team more than doubled the opposition with 527 total yards. Kai linebacker Jordon Dizon, a Waimea graduate who starred at Colorado, finished with six tackles, but the defense had its back against the wall from the outset thanks to the giveaways.

"It hits you right between the eyes," Kai coach Mike Riley (Oregon State) said of the fumbles. "We'd get a couple of good plays going and then we'd turn the ball over or take a sack. We didn't have any continuity as a team."

All three first-half scores by the Aina team came off of Kai turnovers. Kahuku graduate J.T. Mapu (Tennessee) and defensive end Angelo Craig (Cincinnati) combined to wreak havoc on the Kai quarterbacks. The duo combined for three sacks and two forced fumbles in the first half.

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jabari Arthur of the Aina team pulled in this pass ahead of Brian Witherspoon of Kai.

Aina already led 7-0 on a touchdown run by Smith when Mapu came off the end and sacked Kai quarterback TC Ostrander (Stanford), forcing the fumble. It was recovered by the Kai team and Smith plunged into the end zone from 6 yards out on the next play to make it 14-0.

"Our thing all week was to get after the quarterback," Craig said. "I was just focused on coming off the ball fast."

An interception by Haruki Nakamura (Cincinnati) set up Aina's final score of the half with just 8 seconds remaining. It struggled to move the ball in the air until Morris entered the game. He completed all 11 of his passes in the first half and tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Hocker (Duquesne) to put his team up 21-0 going into the break.

"I've been trying to work hard on throwing because people look at me as a running quarterback," Morris said. "That was my focus all week and I think it played out well."

A 38-yard field goal by Arthur Carmody (Louisville) pushed the lead to 24. After back-to-back lost fumbles on consecutive plays from each team, Kevin O'Connell (San Diego State) led Kai to their only score of the game. He completed six of nine passes on the drive and found Robert Jordan (Cal) in the end zone from 15 yards out on fourth down to make it 24-7.

Kai's fifth turnover opened the fourth quarter, as Ostrander was sacked for the fourth time and lost his second fumble. It was recovered by Mapu, who snared it with one hand and then tried to score before being tackled from behind.

"I wanted to take it to the house," Mapu said. "I saw the ball and thought I had enough room to score. I didn't want to just fall on it."